Charge room locationing

ABSTRACT

A mobile device locationing system that overrides the reported position with that of the charge room when the AC charge signal is detected by the device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/850,684, filed on Dec. 21, 2017, and incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Locationing systems may be used to locate and track a mobile electronicdevice at a venue. RF, light or ultrasonic locationing systems, forexample, may dispose an array of transmitters or receivers proximate tothe venue. Mobile devices may be locationed at the venue. In suchsystems, the mobile devices must be charged from time to time. Dedicatedcharging spaces, or charge rooms, may be provided adjacent to the venuefor charging the mobile devices. Extending a locationing zone to includecharge rooms would require positioning expensive locationing hardware inthe charge rooms.

Accordingly, there is a need for locationing mobile devices in chargerooms without extending the locationing zone to encompass the chargerooms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of charge room locationing on a retailsales floor in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of charge room locationing in a venue withmultiple charge rooms in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of reducing a coverage zone of alocationing system in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a charge room in a venue with chargeroom locationing in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a charge room and a system for charge roomlocationing in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method of locationing a mobiledevice in a charge room in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of another example method of locationing a mobiledevice in a charge room in accordance with some embodiments.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

The apparatus and method components have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments ofthe present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with detailsthat will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the arthaving the benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As described herein, embodiments of the present disclosure are directeda method and system of locationing a mobile device in a charge location.In some examples, the techniques include receiving a charge signalindicating external charging of a mobile. In some examples, thetechniques include receiving characteristic of a charge location in avenue, where that venue may have more than one charge location. Thetechniques further include determining that the mobile device is at thecharge location based on the charge signal and/or on the characteristicof the charge location at the venue, and outputting a locationing statusassociating the mobile device with the identified charge location. Insome examples, the determining of the locationing status is performed atthe mobile and the locationing status is, in some examples, output bythe mobile device. In some examples, the locationing server determinesthe locationing status in response to a communication from the mobiledevice, such as an indication of the charge signal and/or an indicationof the characteristic of the charge location.

determining, at a locationing server, the locationing status associatedwith the charge location in response to the mobile device communicatingan indication of the charge signal and/or on the characteristic of thecharge location at the venue. In some examples, the techniques includeemitting a locationing pulse from a transmitter in an array oftransmitters disposed proximate to a venue. The array of transmittersmay be controlled by a locationing server and may define a locationingzone of the venue. The techniques may further include receiving, fromthe mobile device, signal characteristics of the locationing pulsedetected by the mobile device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a charge room locationing system 100 ona retail sales floor 114 including an array of ultrasonic transmitters102 and mobile detector device 104 in accordance with some embodiments.The array of transmitters 102 are arranged proximate to the retail salesfloor 114. In one implementation, the array of transmitters is arrangedin a grid pattern in a ceiling disposed above a floor area. Thetransmitters 102 emit ultrasonic pulses that can be used to determine alocation of the mobile detector device 104 by, for example,trilateration. In one implementation, the transmitters 102 are audiospeakers emitting locationing pulses in the 20 KHz frequency band. Inone implementation, a server 116 controls the emission of pulses fromthe transmitters 102 in the array. The server 116 may also communicatewith and receive locationing information from the mobile detector device(e.g., characteristics of signal 106).

The mobile detector device 102 may be a handheld electronic device(e.g., smartphone, tablet, etc.) equipped with a microphone capable ofreceiving ultrasonic pulses in the frequency band used by thetransmitters 102. The mobile detector device may be equipped with amicrophone to sense ultrasonic pulses. The mobile detector device maysample signals detected by the microphone by sampling the microphoneoutput or reading microphone output at intervals from a buffer. While invarious illustrated examples herein, transmitters are described as aultrasonic transmitters, in other implementations locationing may bebased on other wireless communication transmitters, including RadioFrequency (RF) locationing systems, Bluetooth systems, Bluetooth LowEnergy (BLE) systems, WiFi systems, beacon-based systems, or otherwireless data transmitters, and further may include light basedlocationing systems using cameras or other optical sensors.

The array of transmitters 102 forms a locationing zone in which mobiledevices may be located. The size of the locationing zone is an importantfactor in the quality of locationing services provided in the venue.Increasing the number of transmitters 102 in the array increases thedensity of potential locationing pulses, but also increases cost topurchase and install the system. Venues may be limited in the number oftransmitters 102 that are feasible to install over the locationing area114. If venues could reduce the size of the locationing zone, then agreater quality of service may be achieved without increasing hardwareand installation costs.

One way to reduce the size of the locationing zone served by thetransmitters 102 is to exclude charge rooms. Instead of spreadingtransmitter resources over an area that encompasses the charge rooms,detecting whether a mobile detector device is in a charge room can bedone in other, less expensive ways. Since the server 116 is incommunication with the mobile detector device 104, the server 116 mayreceive information from the mobile device that indicates acharacteristic of a charge room is present and detected by the mobiledevice (e.g., a wireless network signal strength, visual characteristicof the charge room, electronic characteristic of the charge room,physical characteristic of the charge room, etc.).

It is noted that as used herein, references to a ‘charge room’ includereferences to any type of charge location, such as a location of acharger station, even if that charger station is not within a separatewalled off portion of a venue.

In addition to reducing the size of a locationing zone, locationing of amobile detector device may be enhanced by using the location of a chargeroom or a charger station as the determined location of the mobiledetector device. Such locationing may be triggered by less systemintensive ways, for example, by detecting one a mobile detection deviceis being charged and determining the location of that charging.

In an implementation, the server 116 may conclude that the mobiledetector device 104 is present in a charge room based a charge signaldetected by the mobile detector device 104 upon charging. In someexamples, the charge signal is based on the mobile detector device 104detecting an alternating current (AC) being supplied to the mobiledetector device 104, for example an AC signal provided by an AC chargeror AC charger station to charge the battery of the mobile detectordevice 104. When the mobile detector device 104 detects the AC signal,the mobile detector device 104 transmits a charge signal to the server116 indicating that the mobile detector device 104 is being charged. Insome implementations, upon detecting that its battery is switched from abattery depletion state to a battery charging state, the mobile detectordevice 104 transmits a charge signal. In some implementations, themobile detector device 104 will periodically transmit the charge signalwhile the AC signal is being received, thus indicating to the server 116that the mobile detector device 104 is continuing to receive charging.In an implementation, the mobile detector device 104 may be configuredto differentiate between an external AC signal source, such as from adedicated charger or charger station (i.e., a bank of chargers) in acharge room, from a local battery source attached to the mobile detectordevice 104, such as a direct current (DC) battery source contained witha charger mounted to the mobile detector device 104. The mobile detectordevice 104, for example, may differentiate between an AC charging sourceand a DC battery source. In some examples, the mobile detector device104 may identify the presence of an AC charging source based on thecurrent value detected, where current values above a threshold currentvalue are identified as from an AC charging source thereby triggeringcommunication of a charge signal and current values below a thresholdwill not trigger communication of the charge signal.

Upon receiving the charge signal from the mobile detector device 104,the server 116 may identify that the mobile detector device 104 is in acharge room, or at a charge location in a venue. In response, the server116 may assign a locationing override for the corresponding mobiledetector device 104, where that override sets the location of the mobiledetector device 104 as the predefined location of the charge room orcharger station, in place of the location determined by the locationingtransmitters 102. In many instances, the location of the charge room orcharging station may be more accurate than the location determined bythe locationing transmitters 102, especially for considerably largevenues.

In these ways, in various implementations, the server 116 may identifythe charging of the mobile detector device 104 and the more preciselocation of the mobile detector device 104 based on receipt of a chargesignal from the mobile detector device 104.

Other data, including charge room characteristic data, may be used todetermine the location of the mobile detector device 104, for example,when there are multiple charge rooms or multiple charger stationlocations within a venue. Room characteristic data may be used inconjunction with charge signal data or, in some examples, independentlyfrom charge signal data.

The server 116 may be configured to execute computer instructions toperform operations associated with the systems and methods as describedherein, for example, implement the example operations represented by theblock diagrams or flowcharts of the drawings accompanying thisdescription. The server 116 may implement enterprise service softwarethat may include, for example, RESTful (representational state transfer)API services, message queuing service, and event services that may beprovided by various platforms or specifications, such as the J2EEspecification implemented by any one of the Oracle WebLogic Serverplatform, the JBoss platform, or the IBM WebSphere platform, etc. Othertechnologies or platforms, such as Ruby on Rails, Microsoft .NET, orsimilar may also be used. As described below, the server 116 may bespecifically configured for performing operations represented by theblock diagrams or flowcharts of the drawings described herein.

The example server 116 of FIG. 1 includes a processor, such as, forexample, one or more microprocessors, controllers, and/or any suitabletype of processor. The example server 116 further includes memory (e.g.,volatile memory or non-volatile memory) accessible by the processor, forexample, via a memory controller (not shown). The example processorinteracts with the memory to obtain, for example, machine-readableinstructions stored in the memory corresponding to, for example, theoperations represented by the flowcharts of this disclosure.Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable instructionscorresponding to the example operations of the block diagrams orflowcharts may be stored on one or more removable media (e.g., a compactdisc, a digital versatile disc, removable flash memory, etc.), or over aremote connection, such as the Internet or a cloud-based connection,that may be coupled to the server 301 to provide access to themachine-readable instructions stored thereon. The example server 116 mayfurther include a network interface to enable communication with othermachines via, for example, one or more computer networks, such as alocal area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), e.g., theInternet. The example network interface may include any suitable type ofcommunication interface(s) (e.g., wired and/or wireless interfaces)configured to operate in accordance with any suitable protocol(s), e.g.,Ethernet for wired communications and/or IEEE 802.11 for wirelesscommunications. The server 116 further includes input/output (I/O)interfaces to enable receipt of user input and communication of outputdata to the user, which may include, for example, any number ofkeyboards, mice, USB drives, optical drives, screens, touchscreens, etc.

In one implementation, the server 116 may conclude that the mobiledetector device 104 is present in a charge room also based at least inpart on the absence of locationing information indicating the mobiledetector device is the locationing area 114. The last known location ofthe mobile detector device 104 in the locationing area 114 can be usedto conclude a mobile detector device 104 is in a particular charge room(e.g., “snapping” to the closest charge room based on coordinates oflast ultrasonically detected location). In some implementations, theserver 116 may conclude that the mobile detector device 104 islocationed in a charge room based on a characteristic of the charge roomthat is unique to that particular room. Examples of characteristics ofthe charge room include detection of a Wi-Fi SSID and signal strength,visual detection of a pattern or image known to represent the chargeroom, detection of a characteristic of a charge dock such as physicalinclination angle of the dock, voltage received by the dock, datacommunication received by the dock, etc. In these ways, charge roomspecific characteristics may be used to identify the charge room in avenue or to identify from among a plurality of charge rooms in a venue.

Further still, in various implementations, the server 116 may determinethat the mobile detector device 104 is in a charge room, as well aswhich charge room, based on a combination of charge room characteristicsdata and charge signal data received from the mobile detector device104. In one implementation, in addition to sending a charge signal, themobile detection device 104 may send charge room characteristics data,e.g., data from which the server 116 can determine the location of themobile detection device 104. That charge room characteristic data mayinclude, as discussed further herein, accelerometer data for the mobiledetection device 104, captured image data from an image sensor of themobile detection device 104. For example, different charge rooms ordifferent charge locations within a venue may be set up to includecharges with different tilt angles for holding a mobile detection deviceduring charging. A dedicated charge room in a venue, for example aretail manager's office in a backroom of a venue where charging stationsare located, may have a charger station that orients mobile detectiondevices at a 0°, 5°, 10°, 15°, or 20° orientation to a horizontal plane.While a charger station located within a venue might have a chargerstation that orients mobile detection devices at 60°, 70°, 80°, or 90°orientation to that horizontal plane. By sending both a charge signaland an accelerometer signal to the server 116—the accelerator signalindicating a tilt orientation of the mobile detection device 104 duringcharging—the server 116 will receive both a charge signal a charge roomcharacteristic signal from which the server 116 determines that themobile detection device 104 is charging and the location duringcharging. In some implementations, charger stations can be configuredwith an ability to adjust the tilt orientation that use, therebyallowing personal to manually adjust the tilt so that different chargerstations, and preferably different locations of charger stations, areassociated with different tilt orientations.

While these are examples, they demonstrate that the server 116 maydetermine a location of a mobile detection device not only from receivedcharge signals, but where the charge signal alone leaves an ambiguity asto the location of the mobile detection device, charge roomcharacteristic data may be obtained and used to resolve the ambiguityand identify the specific location where charging is occurring.

In addition to use in determining the location of a mobile detectiondevice, charge room characteristics data may be used to alter the sizeof a locationing zone in a venue, for example, reducing the locationingzone in size thereby making locationing operations more accurate.

Three-dimensional (3D) sensors are used to measure loads within vehicletrailers and shipping containers. 3D sensors, for example, measuredistances from a back-wall of a trailer/container to the nearestload-wall inside that trailer/container. From these distances, operatorscan determine such metrics as the available storage space within avolume

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of charge room locationing in a venue 200with multiple charge rooms in accordance with some embodiments. An arrayof ultrasonic transmitters disposed proximate to the venue 200 define anultrasonic locationing zone 202. When mobile device detectors arepresent within the ultrasonic locationing zone 202, ultrasoniclocationing pulses are received by the mobile devices. Based on thecharacteristics of the locationing pulse signal received by the mobiledevices (e.g., time of detection, intensity of signal, etc.), the mobiledevices may be locationed within the zone 202 (e.g., a physical locationmay be determined within the zone within a margin of error dependentupon the configuration of the system). A mobile device location 204 maybe stated in terms of a coordinate tuple (e.g., x, y value pair)describing a physical location at the venue 200.

In the example illustrated by FIG. 2, the ultrasonic locationing zoneboundary 202 covers several areas of the venue including retail salesdisplays, a checkout area, and other areas that may be devoted to avariety of purposes (e.g., performance area, open areas, etc.). Theultrasonic locationing zone boundary excludes other areas of the venue200 such as an employee area charge room 206, a stock area charge room208, and a dedicated charge room 210. The charge rooms 206, 208, and 210are examples of areas that the venue may use for charging mobiledetector devices when they are not in use at the venue. For example, ifthe mobile detector devices include a mobile check-out terminal forprocessing customer orders, sales staff may take the devices to one ofthe rooms 206, 208, or 210 to charge when battery power runs low.

Each of the example charge rooms 206, 208, and 210 has a set ofrespective charge room characteristics that can be used to locate amobile detector device since the example charge rooms 206, 208, and 210are outside the ultrasonic locationing zone boundary 202 and thus notlocatable by the array of transmitters in the ultrasonic locationingsystem. Examples of characteristics of the charge room include detectionof a Wi-Fi SSID and signal strength, visual detection of a pattern orimage known to represent the charge room, detection of a characteristicof a charge dock such as physical inclination angle of the dock, voltagereceived by the dock, data communication received by the dock, etc.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of reducing a coverage zone of alocationing system at a venue in accordance with some embodiments. Theexample operation shown in FIG. 3 reduces an ultrasonic locationing zoneat the venue 302 compared to the venue 300. Reducing the size of theultrasonic locationing zone may be based on reducing the number ofplanned transmitters at the venue 302, thus lowering purchase andinstallation costs. Alternatively, or additionally, the operation shownin FIG. 3 may include increasing the density of transmitters in thearray proximate to the venue 302 such that a greater accuracy isachieved with the same number of transmitters as compared to the venue300.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a charge room 400 in a venue withcharge room locationing in accordance with some embodiments. The chargeroom 400 includes characteristics that are associated with charge room400 and not with other charge rooms at the same venue. One type ofcharacteristic associated with the charge room is the presence ofwireless networks 402 and 404. In the example of FIG. 4, the wirelessnetworks are shown as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™ networks, but other types ofnetworks may also be used. The wireless networks have networkidentifiers and expected signal strengths that form a wireless networkprofile associated with the charge room 400. The wireless networkprofile of the charge room 400 may be surveyed and recorded during aconfiguration phase of the locationing system at the venue that includescharge room 400. The wireless network profile of the charge room 400 maybe distributed to mobile detector device 406 such that when mobiledetector device encounters the wireless network profile, it may transmitits location in charge room 400 to a server controlling the locationingsystem. Alternatively, or additionally, the mobile detector device 406may transmit only the wireless network configuration sensed in thecharge room 400 and a server controlling the locationing system maydetermine that the mobile detector device 406 is located in the chargeroom 400.

Other types of charge room characteristics of the charge room 400 arevisual characteristics. In some implementations, the mobile detectordevice 406 includes one or more cameras that may be used to record avisual record of the device's surroundings. For example, a visualpattern 408 may be displayed on a wall of the charge room 400 that islarge and distinctive enough (e.g., high contrast, etc.) such that aphotograph taken by the mobile detector device 406 may be analyzed for amatch with the visual pattern 408. A dock 410 into which the mobiledetector device 406 may be inserted for charging may be positioned suchthat one of the cameras of the mobile detector device 406 is directedtoward the visual pattern 408 when the device 406 is charging in thedock. The camera of the mobile device 408 may be triggered when thedevice receives a charging signal.

The visual pattern 408 need not be custom pattern created specificallyfor the charge room 400. Instead, the visual pattern 408 may includefeatures of the charge room 400 such as location and size of windows,doors, furniture, artwork, paint or wallpaper color/pattern, plants,etc. that are visible in the charge room 400.

Another type of visual characteristic of the charge room 400 is a memberthat extends from the charge dock 410 and is visible to at least one ofthe cameras of the mobile detector device 406. An example of the memberis an arm extending from the dock 410 that is adjustably positioned inthe field of view of a camera of the mobile detector device 406. The armmay have a number, character, or other design that indicates associationwith the charge room 400 (e.g., serial number, room number, roomdescriptive name, etc.). Since the member extending from the chargingdock 410 is attached to the dock, the member will move as the dock isturned or repositioned inside the charge room 400, thus reducing thelikelihood that the mobile detector device 406 does not have the visualcharacteristic in view of a camera.

Another type of characteristic of the charge room 400 is acharacteristic of the charging dock 410 that is detectable by the mobiledetector device 406. The charging dock 410 may hold the mobile device406 at an angle with respect to vertical that may be measured by themobile device 406, for example using an accelerometer in the mobiledevice 406. In some implementations, the charging dock 410 itself isadjustable to select an angle of the device 406. In a venue withmultiple charge rooms, the charging dock in each charging room may beset to a different angle to distinguish each charge room from the othercharge rooms at the venue. In other implementations, the charge dock 410includes a separate wedge accessory which may be distributed to thevenue during a configuration phase of the locationing system, such thateach charging dock 410 may be set to include a docket mobile detectordevice 406 at a different angle from the other charge rooms at thevenue.

In addition to these charge room characteristics, charge signals may besent by the mobile detector device 406 upon detection of an electricalsignal received from the charging dock 410 via a connector 414. Thecharging dock 410 may transmit a signal to the mobile detector device406 via the voltage or current supplied via the connector 414. In someimplementations, each charge room in a venue with multiple charge roomsmay supply a slightly different voltage or current to charge a mobiledetector device. Alternatively, or additionally, the charge dock 410 maycommunicate with the mobile detector device 406 over a data connectionusing the connector 414 such as a USB, lightning, or similar dataconnection. The mobile detector device (e.g., an application executingon the mobile device or launched in response to detection of theconnector 414) may receive information over the data connectionidentifying the charge room 400 and transmit a charge signal to acentralized server as a result.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a charge room 502 in a system 500 forcharge room locationing in accordance with some embodiments. The chargeroom 502 is located within a venue and includes components for chargingand detecting the location of a mobile device. The charge room includesthe mobile device, a charging dock, and a charger to supply power to themobile device. The charge room 502 includes characteristics such as avisual pattern for identifying the charge room in comparison to othercharge rooms at the venue. The charge room further includes a controllercircuit connected to a memory (e.g., storing an OS and applications) anda transmitter for transmitting information from the mobile device to thelocationing server 506. The controller circuit, memory, and transmittermay be included in the charging dock and may transmit locationinformation received via the mobile device or may collect informationregarding the presence of the device independently from the inputfeatures of the device (e.g., the charging dock may read a serial numberfrom the device via the charging dock connector, the transmitter mayrecognize a wireless SSID of the mobile device, etc.).

The system 500 further includes a locationing server 506. Thelocationing server is in communication with mobile device detectors 504(e.g., the charging dock, wireless networks, etc.). The locationingserver 506 may receive charge signals and/or information from the chargeroom 502 and/or information from the mobile device detectors to locate amobile device. The locationing server 506 may determine the location ofa mobile device from the mobile device locator, for example, in responseto receiving a charge signal from the mobile device determining frominformation stored in memory the location of the charger or chargerstation in a venue. The locationing server 506 further includes anultrasonic pulse controller to send ultrasonic pulses to an array oftransmitters disposed proximate to the venue. Based on a retail salesfloor map, a mobile device locator may locate a mobile device based onsignals received via the transmitter regarding the ultrasoniclocationing pulses received by the mobile device, including where theultrasonic locationing pulses are sent along with a charge signalwithout a charge signal. If the locationing server 506 does not receivelocationing information regarding the mobile device through the mobiledevice detectors 504 or the ultrasonic pulse signals, the controllercircuit of the locationing server 506 may assume the location of amobile device based on a “snapping” determination based on the mobiledevice's last known location.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 of locationing a mobiledevice in a charge room or charger station location in accordance withsome embodiments. The method 600 includes an emitting operation 602 thatemits a locationing pulse from a transmitter in an array of transmittersat a venue. The emitting operation 602 may be performed by a locationingserver that sends a signal to one or more of the transmitters in thearray to emit the pulse. A receiving operation 604 receives, from amobile device at the venue, signal characteristics of the locationingpulse detected by the mobile device. The signal characteristics includefeatures of the received locationing pulse such as time of detection,frequency at detection, signal strength at detection that reveal thelocation of the mobile device within the venue.

A receiving operation 605 receives, from the mobile device at the venue,an indication of a charge signal indicating that the mobile device isbeing charged via an external power source. The receiving operation 605may include having the mobile device detect the presence of an externalAC source from which the mobile device communications a charge signal toa server. The charge signal may be communicated from the mobile deviceor in some examples from a charging dock communicatively coupled to themobile device and coupled to the server through a communication network.

In the illustrated example, a receiving operation 606 receives, from themobile device at the venue, a characteristic of a charge room at thevenue. The receiving operation 606 may be optional and implemented inexample implementations when there are multiple charge rooms and/orcharger stations.

The receiving operation 606 may include any of several types ofcharacteristics including without limitation a visual characteristic, awireless network profile characteristic, a physical characteristic(e.g., of a charging dock), etc. The receiving operation 606 may includereceiving a data transmission from the mobile device (e.g., via awireless network) or receiving a data transmission from a charging dockthat is communicatively coupled to the mobile device.

A determining operation 608 determines that the mobile device is at thecharge room (or charger station) based on the charge signal alone, basedon the charge signal in combination with the characteristics of thecharge room at the venue, or based on the characteristics of the chargeroom without the charge signal. In the example of a charge signal alone,the determining operation 608 may identify the charge room or chargerstation associated with the location of the charger. In other examples,the determining operation 608 may include comparison of thecharacteristic of the charge room received in operation 606 to a set ofcharacteristics known to be associated with the respective charge roomsat the venue. For example, during an installation and configurationphase of the locationing system, characteristics of the charge rooms maybe collected and recorded. In some implementations, characteristics ofthe charge rooms are created specifically for the purpose of charge roomlocationing (e.g., establishing and naming wireless networks, hanging avisual symbol, etc.), and in other implementations, existingcharacteristics of the charge rooms are collected (e.g., existing wallpaint color, window and door sizes and locations, etc.). Theconfiguration phase of the locationing system may also includeconfiguring a charging dock to supply a recognizable electrical signal(voltage, data signal, etc.) or another characteristic (e.g., a portionof the charging dock is unique and visible to a camera on the mobiledevice).

The collected characteristics of charge rooms may be compared to thecharacteristic of a charge room received in operation 606 to completethe determining operation 608. Some implementations may includevariation parameters such that characteristics that are within thevariation parameters may be considered to be a match to a charge room.For example, a wireless signal strength may fluctuate according toenvironmental conditions that change over time. The determiningoperation 608 may consider a wireless signal strength to be a match ifthe signal is within a margin. Similarly, visual analysis may require acorrelation score between a known visual characteristic and a receivedcharacteristic to be within a margin to be considered to be a match. Inother implementations, the best match between the receivedcharacteristic and the collected characteristic may determine in whichcharge room the mobile device is located.

An outputting operation 610 outputs a locationing status associating themobile device with the charge room or charger station. The outputtingoperation 610 may include recording a mobile device as being in aparticular charge room or charger station, creating a message to notifystaff of mobile device location status, as an input to another componentof the locationing system, etc. The outputting operation 610 need notproduce a visual message to a user of the locationing system.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of another example method 700 of locationing amobile device in a charge room in accordance with some embodiments. Adetecting operation 702 detects, at a mobile device, a locationing pulseemitted from a transmitter in an array of transmitters to yield signalcharacteristics of the locationing pulse. A transmitting operation 704transmits to a locationing server, a location of the mobile device atthe venue based on the signal characteristics of the locationing pulse.The transmitting operation 704 may include a location determined basedon the signal characteristics or it may include only the raw signalcharacteristics such that a determination of the location of the mobiledevice may be made at the locationing server.

A moving operation 706 moves the mobile device to a charge room at thevenue. The moving operation may be to bring a mobile device to a chargeroom at the venue for recharging. In some implementations, the movingoperation 706 includes placing the mobile device in a charge dock at thecharge room. A detecting operation 708 detects by the mobile device acharacteristic of the charge location. The detecting operation 708 mayinclude directly or indirectly collecting characteristics of the chargelocation in which a mobile device is charging. The characteristicsinclude a wireless network profile of the charging location, a physicalcharacteristic of the charge location, an electrical characteristic ofthe charge location, etc. In some implementations, a characteristic ofthe charge room is established when the locationing system is configuredto identify the charge room (e.g., a visual indication of the name orroom number of the charge room). A transmitting operation 710 transmitsfrom the mobile device, the characteristic of the charge location to thelocationing server.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have beendescribed. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates thatvarious modifications and changes can be made without departing from thescope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly,the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrativerather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intendedto be included within the scope of present teachings.

The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) thatmay cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all the claims. The invention is definedsolely by the appended claims including any amendments made during thependency of this application and all equivalents of those claims asissued.

Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first and second,top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish oneentity or action from another entity or action without necessarilyrequiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between suchentities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has”,“having,” “includes”, “including,” “contains”, “containing” or any othervariation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, suchthat a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has,includes, contains a list of elements does not include only thoseelements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherentto such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by“comprises . . . a”, “has . . . a”, “includes . . . a”, “contains . . .a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence ofadditional identical elements in the process, method, article, orapparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms“a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly statedotherwise herein. The terms “substantially”, “essentially”,“approximately”, “about” or any other version thereof, are defined asbeing close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and inone non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, inanother embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1% and inanother embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” as used herein isdefined as connected, although not necessarily directly and notnecessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” ina certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also beconfigured in ways that are not listed.

It will be appreciated that some embodiments may be comprised of one ormore generic or specialized processors (or “processing devices”) such asmicroprocessors, digital signal processors, customized processors andfield programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and unique stored programinstructions (including both software and firmware) that control the oneor more processors to implement, in conjunction with certainnon-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of themethod and/or apparatus described herein. Alternatively, some or allfunctions could be implemented by a state machine that has no storedprogram instructions, or in one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certainof the functions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, acombination of the two approaches could be used.

Moreover, an embodiment can be implemented as a computer-readablestorage medium having computer readable code stored thereon forprogramming a computer (e.g., comprising a processor) to perform amethod as described and claimed herein. Examples of suchcomputer-readable storage mediums include, but are not limited to, ahard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storagedevice, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read OnlyMemory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an EEPROM(Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) and a Flashmemory. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill,notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choicesmotivated by, for example, available time, current technology, andeconomic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principlesdisclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such softwareinstructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claimsare hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of locationing a mobile device in a venue,the method comprising: receiving, from a first locationing system, firstlocation information associated with the mobile device at the venue;associating a location with the mobile device based on the firstlocation information; receiving, from the mobile device at the venue, acharge signal indicating external charging of the mobile device and/or acharacteristic of a charge location at the venue; determining that themobile device is at the charge location based on the charge signaland/or on the characteristic of the charge location at the venue; andoutputting a locationing override, wherein the locationing overridecauses the location of the mobile device associated with the firstlocation information to be updated to that of the charge location. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, at the mobiledevice, the locationing override when the mobile device is determined tobe at the charge location based on the charge signal and/or on thecharacteristic of the charge location at the venue.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein outputting the locationing override associating themobile device with the charge location is performed by the mobiledevice.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, at alocationing server, the locationing override in response to the mobiledevice communicating an indication of the charge signal and/or on thecharacteristic of the charge location at the venue.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein outputting the locationing override associating themobile device with the charge location is performed by the locationingserver.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: emitting alocationing pulse from a transmitter in an array of transmittersdisposed proximate to the venue, the array of transmitters beingcontrolled by a locationing server and defining a locationing zone ofthe venue; and receiving, from the mobile device at the venue, signalcharacteristics of the locationing pulse detected by the mobile device.7. The method of claim 6, wherein the charge location is located outsidethe locationing zone.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thecharacteristic of the charge location is a communication network signalprofile associated with the charge location.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the characteristic of the charge location is received inresponse to detection of an external power source via a charging dockinto which the mobile device is inserted.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the characteristic of the charge location is an angle oforientation of the charging dock.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein theoutputting is during a period of time during which the mobile device isat the charge location.
 12. A method for locationing a mobile device ata charge location, the method comprising: detecting, at a mobile deviceat a venue, a locationing pulse emitted from a transmitter in an arrayof transmitters to yield signal characteristics of the locationingpulse; transmitting, to a locationing server, a location of the mobiledevice at the venue based on the signal characteristics of thelocationing pulse; detecting, by the mobile device, a charge signaland/or a characteristic of the charge location; transmitting, from themobile device, the charge signal and/or the characteristic of the chargelocation to the locationing server; and updating, via the locationingserver, the location of the mobile device based on the charge signaland/or the characteristic of the charge location, wherein the updatingthe location of the mobile device includes overriding the location ofthe mobile device at the venue determined based on the signalcharacteristics of the locationing pulse to that of the charge location.13. The method of claim 12 wherein the characteristic of the chargelocation is a photograph taken by the mobile device when the mobiledevice receives a charging signal.
 14. The method of claim 12, whereinthe characteristic of the charge location is a communication networksignal profile associated with the charge location.
 15. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the characteristic of the charge location is a visualinput detected by a camera of the mobile device.
 16. A system forlocationing a mobile device in a venue, the system comprising: a venuelocationing server for the venue, the venue including one or more mobiledevice charge locations; and a mobile device configured to detect acharge signal indicating external charging of the mobile device and/or acharacteristic of the one or more mobile device charge locations at thevenue, wherein one or more of the venue locationing server and themobile device is configured to: determine that the mobile device is at acharge location based on the charge signal and/or on the characteristicof the charge location at the venue; and output a locationing overrideassociating the mobile device with the charge location, and whereinvenue locationing server is further configured to update a location ofthe mobile device based on the locationing override such that thelocation of the mobile device is updated to that of the charge location.